Pole Dance

Pole Dance has suddenly burst into the culture of the 21st century. Many have tried their hand in this area of sports and there is no such person who has not heard the phrase pole dance. But we nevertheless decided in our blog to look at a pole dance from different angles and tell everything about this activity. We have also collected some interesting facts about Pole Dance that many of you did not know.

For everyone or for  the special?

Long-term observations have confirmed that everyone can master this direction, regardless of gender, weight, age, sports training, and physical form. This does not mean that it will be easy, mastering exercises on the pole for beginners will already have to demonstrate perseverance, willpower, and endurance. The speed of progress is different for everyone, someone is mastering the strength elements faster, someone is stretching, and someone is dancing and plastic, but there are no people who were completely unable to make progress. In turn, the speed of results depends on the frequency of visits, a mood for the result, and the level of pain threshold, which is individual for each. Pole dance for beginners is not only a beautiful dance but also a test for body, soul, and willpower.

Elements of pole dance for beginners:

With a high probability, already in the first lesson, you will be able to do one of these elements:

• Firefighter;

• Stool;

• Martini (entrance to the element from the floor);

• Splitting (slingshot);

• Twist – “Frog”

Interesting fact:

According to average estimates, more than 3/4 of the students, after the first lesson, continue to practice pole dancing. Although, nothing is surprising in this. After all, pole dance training is always exciting and perky. Here is such a “Love at first sight”.

What is Paul Dance: Hobby, Sports, or Career?

Everyone who has attended the lesson at least once can choose “his” direction of development and future goals associated with this direction.

You can go to workouts to keep fit. Or to get positive emotions and create a circle of interesting acquaintances, because floor dance training is always fun and exciting. Many people use pole dance as a fun weight-loss tool.

After some time, you can try yourself as an athlete performing at local and later international championships. The advantage of floor dance is that it is a relatively young direction and at any pole dance competition for beginners there are separate categories: “debutants” (performing for the first time) and “beginners” (training for less than 1 year). Therefore, it is interesting to take part in the competition, and the results will be fair.

If you like pole dance, then you can choose this direction for yourself as an additional or full-time job. Experienced students often become instructors, or open their schools and studios.

What difficulties did a pole dance “prepare” for beginners?

Pole dancers jokingly say: “The most difficult thing, after the first workout, is to come to the second.” Everything is not so scary. Of course, there are difficulties, but impossible is nothing!

The hardest part in pole dance for beginners is not to give up at the first “defeat”, because every element on the pole for beginners needs dozens of repetitions and hours to make it perfect.

Hematomas or bruising when practicing pole dance is another difficulty to overcome. This load is not familiar to the human body. And it is quite logical that the body reacts to numerous contacts with a metal pipe with the appearance of hematomas. But let’s hasten to reassure you, soon such a load becomes the norm and the appearance of bruises is reduced.

For about one or two months, you need to endure the pain, the body will gradually get used to it and the elements that were performed through pain will no longer bring discomfort.

Another obstacle familiar to beginners is laziness. It often tempts you to skip “just once” and hinders your progress. It is especially important in the beginning not to miss out on studio visits, especially if you are in a group. But if you have to skip, then use the individual workouts later to catch up with the results.

It is unusual for beginners to practice in open clothes (uniform for floor dance), however, literally in a month, stylish and bright clothes for a pole dance will become familiar, and even turn into one of the favorite components of training.

Men on a pole

The world is striving for equality and the destruction of gender stereotypes. Women fly into space and hold high political positions. But male pole dancing is still shrouded in prejudice.

Therefore, we remind you: Pole Dance is both a female and a male dance.

Every year there are more and more men in the community, and contrary to some stereotypes, this has nothing to do with their sexual orientation.

“Pole dance is considered a women’s sport,” says Matty Shields, a professional pole dancer from Australia. “It’s still female-dominated.” Shields adds that pole dancing can be a “very masculine sport” and a form of “artistic expression.” Admittedly, men have a bit of an edge when it comes to pole dancing. Men generally have higher levels of upper body strength, which allows them to handle various traditional pole movements with ease.

And even more, pole dance history begins with Malashtambha – yoga on wooden poles, which was practiced exclusively by men. There are many similarities between modern PoleSport and ancient Malashtambha.

PD studio equipment

The main object necessary for training and for performing directly is a pole, it is also called a pole. This is usually a polished metal pipe. Its diameter is different – from 40 mm, and the height is equal to the height of the room. Manufacturers produce them from stainless steel, brass, and even plastic, but sliding depends on the quality of the surface – accordingly, the performance of dance elements.In PD studios, the poles are placed at a distance of two meters from each other and at least a meter from the walls.For vivid performances, dynamic (rotating) pylons are made. Due to their movement,any acrobatic stunts look even more spectacular.

The main directions of  a Pole Dance

Today there are three main directions of  pole dance:

Exotic pole dance is the sexiest pole dance style and mainly involves performing dance routines near the pole. You can distinguish exotics by using a special accessory – strips (special shoes with a platform and high heels). In other types of a pole dance, strips are not used. Both women and men are engaged in “exotic”. This kind of a pole dance is not suitable for children.

Exotic pole dance for beginner dancers brings a lot of opportunities. It develops grace and plasticity. It also improves self-esteem and removes complexes. As a rule, the atmosphere of sisterhood reigns in training, the students of the group rejoice at each other’s achievements, support (in all meanings of the word).

Artistic Pole Dance/PoleArt – perhaps the most harmonious combination of sport and creativity. Classes include mastering acrobatic stunts, choreography, and even acting. The result of the lessons will be the ability to choose an image (character) and convey it through a performance with a pylon. 

PoleSport – power tricks and acrobatic elements on the pole became the priority in this style. 

In addition to the three main types of activities, there is a narrower division into styles and categories. For example, exotic pole dance is subdivided into Exotic Hard – where tricks prevail and Exotic Old School (Style) – where the main emphasis is on plasticity. Or such specific trends as PoleFLY and PoleSILKS, where a special loop or canvases are attached to the pole, which makes it possible to diversify the pole dance for beginners and not only dancers.

POLE KIDS (children’s pole dance) – one cannot say that floor dance for children is very different from the classical directions. Particular attention in this direction is paid to the elimination of the slightest manifestation of eroticism. Studios, taking the pole dance direction for children, are more scrupulous in choosing a coach. The children’s coach combines knowledge in pedagogy and personal achievements in a Pole Dance. 

Children do not start learning pole dance right away. Children step by step disassemble the basics of choreography, develop flexibility, do physical training, and only after that the children do tricks.

By the way, there is no such thing as a “children’s pole”. The children’s pylon has standard features.

On the pole dance championships, children compete in a separate category from adults.

Children master the pylon much faster than adults. Therefore, pole acrobatics for children can be a great way to increase self-esteem (“I can do what not every adult can”). At the same time, it harmoniously develops a  creative component of a  personality, physical body, and discipline.

Some more interesting facts about a Pole Dance:

The duration of a beginner’s workout is usually 60 to 80 minutes. More experienced athletes increase this time to 90 minutes.

The oldest professional Paul Dance dancer in the world today is Dai Dali who is 73 years old.

Difficulties in the development of PD, such as fighting stereotypes, including the one that many people consider pole dancing to be a “striptease”, unite pole dancers all over the world. This unique closeness between pole dancers creates a kind of transnational PD community.

Pole dancers choose an open shape: a sports bra and panties, to ensure the grip of the body with the pole. This is necessary for most of the tricks.

The first International Pole Dance Championship was held not so long ago, in 2008 in Manila (Philippines). It was organized by the International Pole Dance and Fitness Association (IPDFA). In the first championship, the participants fought in two categories Pole Sport and Pole Art. And in 2010, a new category for performers with disabilities was opened, inspired by the participant of the 2009 International Championship with visual impairments Marie Dunot from France.

Now let’s dispel the most common stereotypes that prevent you from joining a pole dance right now:

• I have never done any kind of dance or acrobatics before. It’s too late to start at this age.

Trust me, it’s never too late to try something new. But until you try, you don’t know whether it will work or not. And we are sure – YOU WILL DO GREAT!

Fun fact: The entire QUEEN team attended a pole dance class. Everyone had a different level of training and physical data and they all managed to do something new in the first lesson. We also had a lot of fun..

• I have no stretch / weak arms to do these tricks.

Great, then a pole dance is an ideal activity for you, in training you will not only learn tricks on the pole, but also do physical preparation and stretching. Many of those who learn pole dancing from scratch significantly improve their stretching and even sit on the split.

• I do not have enough energy for everyday activities, after training I will be unable to do anything at all.

Paradoxical, but true. Pole dance classes, as well as many kinds of sports or dance, do not waste your energy, but on the contrary – increase it. This is facilitated by the release of endorphins and dopamine (hormones of happiness and pleasure). If you do not dive deeply into the study of hormones, the principle is approximately the following: “When you spend energy on something that brings pleasure, the energy is restored quickly and in a twice bigger amount.

• I am afraid of bruising.

Unfortunately, bruising is an almost inevitable effect of a beginner’s pole dance. But their appearance with each lesson significantly decreases and eventually disappears completely. If you still feel complex because of bruises, you can start practicing in the autumn-winter period, when we dress in closed clothes. By the beginning of the warm season, bruises from pole dance classes will appear extremely rarely.

We think it was  interesting for you to read  facts about pole dance and dispel stereotypes.  Hopefully, you have been inspired to join  pole dance and will soon see your photos from the hottest workouts.